25. The Hellish Cenci Household
Beatrice Cenci (1577 – 1599) was the youngest of seven children – five sons and two daughters – sired by Count Francesco Cenci on his first wife. The Cenci were an ancient Roman patrician family that claimed descent from the gens Cinci. A brutal man, Count Cenci used his inherited wealth to indulge his tastes for depraved violence with impunity, which earned him the hatred of Rome’s people. The family lived together in the count’s palace in Rome, but when the mother, whom the count had routinely abused, died when Beatrice was seven years old, she and an elder sister were sent to be raised by nuns in a monastery.
Count Cenci’s depravity – although not that directed against his own family – eventually landed him in trouble with the authorities, and got him imprisoned. However, his aristocratic lineage and wealth ensured him lenient treatment. While their father was temporarily locked up, Beatrice’s older siblings found ways to escape the abuse. One of Beatrice’s brothers, Giacomo, simply disowned his wealthy father and left. Two other brothers got themselves killed in duels, and her older sister successfully petitioned the pope for permission to marry without her father’s consent. As to Bernice, her only out was through exacting vengeance upon her father.